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All the alcohol in the world couldn’t distract Hope from the fact that she had epically fucked things up.
It was a typical Friday night at the Salvatore School. The Old Mill came alive with twinkling lights and heavy bass. Somehow, Lizzie had convinced (more like dragged) Hope to the party, promising her a night of teenage debauchery, anything to get the tribrid’s mind off Josie Saltzman.
The same girl who was now laughing at all of Raf’s jokes, her hand thrown across his muscular thighs as if they were dating. It made Hope want to scream, to pour her disgusting cocktail of mostly cheap vodka all over his head and drag Josie off to the nearest secluded spot and kiss her senseless—
No, that was her wolf talking.
She would not be some possessive, crazed monster, especially after she all but pushed Josie into Raf’s waiting arms.
She felt like her blood was on fire, quickly swallowing down another giant gulp of liquor, her throat burning as the liquid made its way down to her stomach. She felt uneasy, every sip making her more nauseous. But it wasn’t the booze. It was Josie.
She had barely even noticed that Hope showed up. It was like she was invisible, that Josie had completely erased her from her mind. She might as well have jumped into Malivore all over again.
She wanted to blame anyone but herself, but she knew deep down she was at fault. She had betrayed herself, let her walls shoot up, shutting Josie down.
Mikaelson’s were notoriously stubborn—it was practically encoded in her DNA. Along with a slew of anger issues which she tried to shove down, deep into her subconscious until they boiled over and exploded, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. But Hope would never let it get that bad-she would not be her father, she would not give into her legacy and become a reckless tribrid like the world expected her to be.
But the vodka wasn’t doing her any favors. Every second Josie ignored her, every touch between her and Raf set Hope’s mind ablaze, causing her to dig her nails deep into her palm, so deep that blood began to trickle down her fingers.
“Hope, did you want a hit?” Lizzie sat next to her, a joint held in between her slender fingers. She cocked her head, looking at Hope inquisitively, like she wanted to ask what was wrong, but didn’t want to set the tribrid off.
“Huh?” Hope snapped out of her daze, prying her eyes away from Josie. “Uh, yeah, sure.” She snatched the joint from Lizzie, inhaling deeply. She wanted the smoke to fill her lungs, to consume her, to make her forget.
Hope must have forgotten she was a lightweight, because she ended up coughing violently, causing the witches around her to burst into a fit of giggles. “Guess the almighty tribrid can’t handle a little weed!” Alyssa sneered, giving Hope her classic look of disdain.
“Whatever.” Hope stood up, brushing off her legs to rid them of any dust before heading over to the fire pit. She tried to compose herself, willing her hands to stop shaking, but every step closer she was to Josie, the more her anxiety spiked.
Hope cleared her throat, hoping her nervousness didn’t come through in her voice. “Josie, can we talk?” She squeaked, all her efforts were in vain.
Josie turned in her direction, finally noticing the girl in front of her. Her gaze burned under hooded eyes, the haze of alcohol clearly taking over. “Oh, now you want to talk?” Josie snapped, her voice full of resentment.
“Josie, I’m sorry. I- ”
“You know what, Hope? You’re always sorry.” The siphoner was now hovering over her, speaking loudly enough so that the pack, Raf included, were all staring at the pair. “But you never actually mean it. You never actually change.”
“But you mean so much to me, I’m just bad at expressing it.” Her lip began to quiver as tears blurred her vision. She quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand, not wanting to seem weak.
For a second, Josie’s steely demeanor faltered and a look of compassion flashed in her eyes. She looked as if she would wrap Hope up in her long arms, and assure her that everything was okay, that she didn’t do anything wrong. But that moment was fleeting, Hope may have imagined it. “Then get better at it. Because I am always there for you, Hope. Even when Landon dumped me for you, I was still there.” She looked around at the pack behind her, their gazes quickly averted as soon as they got caught staring. Josie lowered her voice, moving so close to Hope that she could smell the alcohol mixed with the siphoner’s intoxicating scent of vanilla. “I mean, you fucking kissed me. And then ran away. Who the fuck does that?” Hope’s eyes widened in surprise—Josie almost never swore.
“I-I know. I’m a coward, I shouldn’t have ran, I-”
“Don’t you dare say you’re sorry again, Hope.” Josie raised her voice once again, still not stepping away from the tribrid. Her eyes darkened, the pupils becoming a deep black. Hope saw Dark Josie in the darkness, threatening to break free. She could siphon from the ground, and turn the lively fire on Hope if she wanted to. “Actions speak louder than your hollow words.” She turned around to go sit back down, next to Raf, but Hope stopped her, reaching out to grab her wrist.
“Wait! Jo-”
“How about you leave her alone?” Raf was now standing next to Hope, too close for her comfort. She could smell the whiskey radiating off of him, practically seeping through his pores. How dare he? He was only giving Josie the time of day again because Hope had rejected him, and he needed a girl to help soothe his fragile ego.
“How about you fuck off?” Hope growled through clenched teeth, her eyes now golden. Raf may be the Alpha, but she was the tribrid, the only one of her kind. She would be damned if she let him intimidate her.
“I was talking to her first.” Raf’s eyes now mimicked Hope’s as the pack stood behind him, ready to fight for their Alpha if need be.
“Okay, you both need to calm down.” Josie stepped in between the pair, putting a gentle hand on Hope’s chest. Hope hated the way her breath caught in her throat as soon as the siphoner touched her, her palm scorching heat into the tribrid’s skin. “Hope, I think you need to-” Hope cut her off, crashing their lips together. At first, Josie was too shocked to kiss back, but then sighed into her, melting her body against Hope. She pulled Josie closer until they were flush against each other. The whole world went quiet-they couldn’t hear the gasps from the other students, or Lizzie shouting “I knew it!”. Everything faded away as Hope deepened the kiss-they were the only two people that mattered.
Hope was the first to pull back, a smirk upon her face as Josie chased her lips, eyes still closed. “How’s that for actions speaking louder than words?” She teased, as Josie let out a soft giggle, resting her forehead against Hope’s.
“What the fuck, Hope?” Raf snapped, still lingering over the pair.
“Ascendo.” Hope muttered as Raf lifted off the ground, hovering dangerously close to the fire pit. “You may be the Alpha, Raf, but I’m a fucking tribrid.” She lowered her hand, as the flames licked closer to him, threatening to turn him into a pile of ash. “Don’t fucking forget it.” Hope flicked her hand to the side, and Raf was tossed away from the fire, skidding across the grass. “Wanna get out of here?” Hope asked, turning her attention to Josie, not caring that the whole pack was now rushing to Raf’s aide, ready to attack Hope for defying him.
“I would love to.”